SECOND BRÂHMANA.

6:2:2:11. The Karakas slaughter (a he-goat) for Pragâpati, saying, 'Pragâpati, having built up the fire-altar (agni), became Agni. When he slaughters that one, then indeed he reaches the end of Agni (the fire-altar).'

6:2:2:22. It is a dark grey one; for the grey has two kinds of hair, the white and the black; and two make a productive pair: that is its Pragâpati-characteristic. It is a hornless one, for Pragâpati is hornless.

6:2:2:33. For this (animal sacrifice) there are twenty-one kindling-verses 1;--twelve months, five seasons, these three worlds, and yonder sun,--that is the twenty-onefold Pragâpati; and Pragâpati is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus kindles him.

6:2:2:44. And, again, why there are twenty-one;--man (purusha) doubtless is twenty-onefold, ten fingers of the hand, ten toes, and the body (make) the twenty-onefold man Pragâpati; and Pragâpati is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus kindles him.

6:2:2:55. He recites both gâyatrî and trishtubh verses: their significance has been told; and (what applies to) the order of the verses has been told. The libation of ghee 2 he makes with the verse containing (the name) Hiranyagarbha 3; for Hiranyagarbha.

is Pragâpati, and Pragâpati is Agni. There are twelve Âprî-verses: their significance has been told; and (what applies to) the order of the verses has been told. The animal cake belongs to Pragâpati, for the relation of the victim is also that of the animal cake 1. It is one on twelve potsherds: twelve months are a year, and the year is Pragâpati. The offering and invitatory formulas contain the word 'Ka,' for Pragâpati is Ka 2.

6:2:2:66. He then slaughters for Vâyu Niyutvat (the wind, driving a team of horses) that white, bearded (he-goat). When Pragâpati had produced living beings, he looked about him, and from exceeding delight his seed fell: it became that white, hornless, bearded he-goat (aga, 'unborn'); for seed is life-sap, and as far as there is life-sap, so far extends the self. And when he slaughters that one, then indeed he reaches the end of Agni (the fire-altar). It is a white one, because seed is white. It is hornless, because seed is hornless. It belongs to Vâyu, because Vâyu (the wind) is the out-breathing; and to Niyutvat, because the teams (niyut 3) are the in-breathing: the out-breathing and in-breathing he thus lays into him.

6:2:2:77. And, again, why he slaughters that white, hornless (he-goat);--when the gods restored the relaxed Pragâpati, they, by means of this victim, put into him that out-breathing which had gone out of him; and in like mariner this one now puts it into him. It belongs to Vâyu, because Vâyu is the out-breathing; and to Niyutvat, because the teams are the in-breathing: he thus puts the out-breathing and in-breathing into him. It is white, because Vâyu (the wind) is white; and it is hornless, because Vâyu is hornless.

6:2:2:88. For this (animal sacrifice) there are seventeen kindling-verses 1; for the year is seventeenfold--there are twelve months and five seasons--Pragâpati is the year, and Pragâpati is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus kindles him.

6:2:2:99. And, again, why there are seventeen,--man is seventeenfold,--there are ten vital airs, four limbs, the body the fifteenth, the neck-joints the sixteenth, and the head the seventeenth,--Pragâpati is the Person (or man, purusha), and Pragâpati is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus kindles him.

6:2:2:1010. He recites both gâyatrî and trishtubh verses: their significance has been told; and (what applies to) the order of the verses has been told. There are twelve Âprî-verses: their significance has been told; and (what applies to) the order of the verses has been told. The animal cake belongs to Pragâpati: 'Therein then that wish was obtained,'

[paragraph continues] Mâhitthi once said,--'which the Karakâs say is in the victim to Pragâpati.'

6:2:2:1111. And as to why the victim belongs to Vâyu, and the animal cake to Pragâpati;--one half of Pragâpati doubtless is Vâyu, and one half is Pragâpati: thus, were they both to belong to Vâyu, or both to Pragâpati, then only one half of him (Pragâpati) would be made up, and one half would not (be made up). But in that the victim belongs to Vâyu, and the animal cake to Pragâpati, thereby he puts together (restores) him, Pragâpati, wholly and entirely.

6:2:2:1212. And, again, why the victim belongs to Vâyu, and the animal cake to Pragâpati;--when the gods restored the relaxed Pragâpati, they, by means of this victim, put into him that out-breathing which had gone out of him; and by means of this cake they restored that body (trunk) of his. And as to why it belongs to Pragâpati, it is because the body (self) is Pragâpati; and (why it is) one on twelve potsherds,--twelve months are a year, and Pragâpati is the year. One of the offering prayers and one of the invitatory prayers 1 contain (the word) 'ka,' for Pragâpati is Ka.

6:2:2:1313. Now when in the first place he offers the omentum, he thereby puts into him (Pragâpati) that vital air which is here in front. And when they proceed with that (cake) in the middle, it is because this trunk is in the middle. And when they proceed thereafter with the (meat) oblation, he thereby puts into him that vital air which is behind. The (remaining) offering and invitatory prayers should contain the word 'bright,' with the view of the obtainment of bright forms; and the word 'niyut' (team), for the obtainment of that form which has a team 1.

6:2:2:1414. As to this they say, 'It is rather the two (prayers) of the Omentum that should contain (the word) "bright," for so far as the two (prayers) of the omentum containing (the word) "bright" extend, extends what is bright in the animal (sacrifice); and the two (prayers) of the (meat) oblation should contain (the word) "team," for the obtainment of that form of him (Pragâpati) which has a team.'

6:2:2:1515. And, again, why he slaughters this animal;--in this animal doubtless the form of all (the five kinds of) animals is (contained): inasmuch as it is hornless and bearded, that is the form of man, for man is hornless and bearded; inasmuch as it is hornless and furnished with a mane, that is the form of the horse, for the horse is hornless and furnished with a mane; inasmuch as it is eight-hoofed, that is the bull's form, for the bull is eight-hoofed; inasmuch as its hoofs are like those of the sheep, that is the form of the

sheep; and inasmuch as it is a he-goat, that is that of the goat. Thus when he slaughters this one, thereby indeed all those (five) animals are slaughtered for him. Whichever of these may suit him--either those five animals, or that (he-goat) for Pragâpati, or that one for (Vâyu) Niyutvat 1--

6:2:2:1616. Let him slaughter it at full moon. 'Let him slaughter at new moon,' so say some, 'for Pragâpati is yonder moon: during that night (of new moon) he dwells here (on earth) 2, and it would be just as if he slaughtered him while staying near.'

6:2:2:1717. But, indeed, this (takes place) at full moon, for the victim is yonder moon, and him the gods slaughter at full moon 3: 'I will slaughter him at the time when the gods slaughter him,' thus he thinks, and therefore (he does so) at full moon. And, again, why at full moon;--the full moon no

doubt was the first to shine forth, hence also (the sacrifice takes place) at full moon.

6:2:2:1818. And furthermore, at the Phâlguna (full moon), for that full moon of Phâlguna, that is, the second (Phâlguna) 1, is the first night of the year; and that first (Phâlguna) is the last (night of the year): he thus begins the year at the very mouth (beginning).

6:2:2:1919. Now, as soon as he has performed the full-moon offering, let him slaughter the victim. For Indra, having driven away Vritra, evil, by means of the full-moon offering, thus freed from evil entered upon this sacrificial performance; and in like manner the Sacrificer, having driven away Vritra, evil, by means of the full-moon offering, thus freed from evil now enters on this (sacred) performance.

6:2:2:2020. This is (performed) in a low voice, for by means of these victims Pragâpati sought to obtain this (sacred) work 2; but that (work) was then, as it were, uncertain, indistinct: hence in a low voice.

6:2:2:2121. And, again, why in a low voice;--this performance assuredly belongs to Pragâpati, for it is Pragâpati he enters upon by this performance; and Pragâpati is undefined.

6:2:2:2222. And, again, why in a low voice;--there is seed here in the sacrifice, and seed is cast silently--the

omentum, the animal cake, and the chief oblation, for of that much consists the animal sacrifice.

6:2:2:2323. On the eighth day (after full moon) he collects (the materials for) the fire-pan; for sacred to Pragâpati is that day, the eighth (after full moon), and sacred to Pragâpati is this (sacred) piece of work, the fire-pan: on a day sacred to Pragâpati he thus performs the work sacred to Pragâpati.

6:2:2:2424. And as to why (it is performed) on the eighth day;--that eighth day no doubt is a joint of the year, and that fire-pan is a joint of Agni (the fire-altar): he thus makes joint upon joint.

6:2:2:2525. And, again, why on the eighth day;--eightfold doubtless is the pan 1--the bottom part, the two side-parts, the horizontal belt (or rim), that makes four; and four upright (bands), that makes eight: he thus makes the eightfold on the eightfold (or eighth).

6:2:2:2626. He performs the initiation on the day of new moon; for from out of the new moon the sacrifice is spread: 'Whence the sacrifice is spread, thence will I generate the sacrifice,' so he thinks.

6:2:2:2727. And, again, why he (does so) at new moon;--when he performs the initiation, he verily pours out his 'own self, as seed, into the fire-pan, the womb; and when he becomes initiated, he makes for it (his self) that world (or place) beforehand 2, and he is

born into the world made by him: hence they say, Man is born into the world made (by him) 1.'

6:2:2:2828. Now, were he to be initiated during less than a year, he would build up bricks without space (for them) 2: the bricks would exceed the spaces. And if, after making more spaces 3, he were not to fill up bricks in accordance therewith, the spaces would exceed the bricks. And when, after initiating himself at new moon, he buys (Soma) at new moon 4, he piles up as many bricks as he (during the interval) makes space for; and when his (Agni's second) wing is covered (with loose soil), the whole Agni is built up.

6:2:2:2929. As to this they say, 'If at the time of the buying (of Soma) the days and nights (of the initiation-period) amount to just as many as there are bricks of that fire-altar, why then are not those

spaces of his filled up (which are prepared) during the days there are after the buying (of Soma) 1? Well, when he buys (Soma) at new moon, after becoming initiated at new moon (a year previously), then he piles up just as many bricks as (during that interval) he makes space for; and what days there then are after the buying (of Soma), during that interval the Adhvaryu builds up the fire-altar. But when should he build up, if there were not that interval? As many as there are days and nights in the year, so many are the bricks of that fire-altar. Thereto (comes) a thirteenth month, for there is that thirteenth month;--thus during the days there are after the buying (of Soma), those spaces of it (the altar) are filled up afterwards with those bricks of the thirteenth month: thus the spaces and the bricks become equal.

6:2:2:3030. Thus, then, what first full moon there is (in the year) on that he slaughters the victim; and what first eighth-day there is, on that he prepares the fire-pan; and what first new moon there is, on that he becomes initiated: thus whatever first days there are in the year, of those he thereby takes possession for him (Agni, the altar), those he thereby gains. Now then as to the total amount (of the fire-altar) 2.

6:2:2:3131. Here now they say, 'How does that sacrificial performance of his (the animal sacrifice) gain the year, Agni? how does it correspond 1 with the year, with Agni?' Well, for those five victims there are twenty-five kindling-verses, twelve Âprî-verses,--that makes thirty-six;--eleven after-offerings, eleven by-offerings 2,--that makes fifty-eight.

6:2:2:3232. Now what forty-eight there are (in these fifty-eight), they are the Gagatî (metre) consisting of forty-eight syllables;--the Gagatî doubtless is this earth, for it is thereon that everything is that moves (gagat); and Agni also is this earth, for it is thereof that the whole Agni is built up: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, so great does this become 3.

6:2:2:3333. And, again, why there are forty-eight;--of forty-eight syllables consists the Gagatî; the Gagatî (comprises) all the metres; all the metres are Pragâpati (the sacrifice 4); and Pragâpati is Agni as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, so great does this become.

6:2:2:3434. And what (remaining) ten there are (in those fifty-eight), they are the Virâg, consisting of ten syllables; and the Virâg is Agni,--there are ten regions, and the regions are Agni; ten vital airs, and the vital airs are Agni: as great as Agni is,

6:2:2:3535. The omentum and the animal cake, that makes sixty;--sixty are the days and nights of a month: thus he gains the month; the month gained gains the season; and the season (gains) the year: he thus gains the year, Agni, and the wishes which are contained in the year, and what other food than that there is in the year, all that (he gains).

6:2:2:3636. And for that (victim) of Pragâpati there are twenty-one kindling-verses, and twelve Âprî-verses, that makes thirty-three;--eleven after-offerings, eleven by-offerings, that makes fifty-five;--omentum, animal cake, and chief oblation, that makes fifty-eight: whatever wish is contained in the fifty-eight, that he gains even here 1;--two libations of ghee, that makes sixty: whatever wish is contained in the sixty, that he gains even here; and what other food than that there is in the year, all that (he gains).

6:2:2:3737. And for that (victim) of (Vâyu) Niyutvat, there are seventeen kindling-verses, and twelve Âprî-verses, that makes twenty-nine;--eleven after-offerings, and eleven by-offerings, that makes fifty-one;--omentum, animal cake, and chief oblation, that makes fifty-four;--two libations of ghee, two (oblations to Agni) Svishtakrit, that makes fifty-eight: whatever wish is contained in the fifty-eight, that he gains even here;--the wood-lord 2 (tree) and the oblation of gravy, that makes sixty: whatever wish is contained

in the sixty, that he gains even here, and what other food than that there is in the year, all that (he gains); and thus that sacrificial performance gains for him the year, Agni; thus it (the animal sacrifice) corresponds with the year, with Agni.

6:2:2:3838. As to this they say, 'Of that animal he should offer no Samishtayagus, nor should he go down with the heart-spit to the purificatory bath 1; for that animal (sacrifice) is the commencement of Agni; the Samishtayagus are the gracious dismissal of the deities 2; and the purificatory bath is the completion;--lest he should at the very commencement dismiss the deities, and complete the sacrifice.' Let him nevertheless complete (the sacrifice): Pragâpati, having offered that animal, saw that he had not reached the end of him, Agni,--let him therefore complete (the sacrifice). And, again, why he completes it;--that animal sacrifice is his vital air, and if anything were to cut him off from that, it would cut him off from the vital air; and if anything were to cut him off from the vital air, he would thus die: let him therefore complete (the sacrifice). Now, then, as to the vows (rites of abstinence).

6:2:2:3939. Here now they say, 'After he has performed that animal offering, he must not sleep upon (a couch), nor eat flesh, nor hold carnal intercourse; for that animal sacrifice is the first Dîkshâ, and improper surely it would be, were the initiated to sleep upon (a couch), or were he to eat flesh, or hold carnal intercourse.' But in no way is this a Dîkshâ, for there is neither a girdle, nor a black

antelope skin 1; but he makes this the first brick 2: let him therefore, if he like, sleep upon (a couch); and whatever food animals here eat, all that is here obtained and taken possession of by him; and whatever kinds of food there are other than honey, of all those he may eat at pleasure, if he can get them. Carnal intercourse, however, he may not hold prior to the (offering of) clotted curds to Mitra and Varuna 3: the purport of this (will be explained) hereafter.

6:2:2:4040. Here now they say, 'At this sacrifice he should give a Dakshinâ (sacrificial gift); thinking, "Lest my sacrifice should be without a dakshinâ!" let him give to the Brahman the prescribed dakshinâ, for the Brahman is the entire sacrifice: thus the entire sacrifice of his becomes healed.' Let him not do so; for he makes this a brick, and it would be just as if he were to give a present with each brick: only at that (proper) time 4 let him therefore give what it befits him (to give).

Footnotes

172:1 Viz. the eleven ordinary gâyatrî verses raised, by repetitions, to the number of fifteen; with six special trishtubh inserted (p. 167, note 1). Kâty. XVI, 1, 34.

172:2 On the two libations of ghee, see part i, p. 124 note; p. 128, n. 2. It is doubtful which of the two libations is intended here; whether the first which in any case belongs to Pragâpati, but is usually made with a different formula from the one prescribed here, or the second. The later ritualists themselves seem to have been doubtful on this point; but Kâtyâyana (XVI, 1, 35-37) leans to the opinion, that the second libation must be intended; both libations thus being made to Pragâpati on this occasion. Sâyana remarks,--hiranyavatyâ rikâ 'hiranyagarbhah samavartatety' ata uttaram samaprakam (? samaprakâram) âghâram âghârayati; pragâpatir vai hiranyagarbhah sa kâgnis tam evam tarpayitvâpnotîty abhiprâyah.

172:3 That is, Vâg. S. XXV, 10 (XIII, 4; Rd S. X, 321, 1, 'Hiranyagarbhah samavartatâgre'), 'Hiranyagarbha (the golden child) came first into existence; he was born as the only lord of all being; he sustained this earth and sky: what god (or the god K a) shall we serve with offering.'

173:2 See I, 1, 1, 13 with note.--The above verse, Rik S. X, 121, I, and following five verses,--each of which ends with, 'what god (or the god Ka) shall we serve with offering,'--are used with the omentum, the animal cake (pasupurodâsa), and the animal oblations respectively; viz. the first three verses as invitatory formulas (anuvâkayâ) and the last three as offering formulas (yâgyâ). Âsv. Sr. III, 8, 1.--Vâg. S. XXV, 10-13, only the first four verses are given together; whilst Sâyana, in accordance with Âsvalâyana, remarks,--vapâ purodâsapasûnâm 'hiranyagarbhah samavartatâgra' ity âdayah syuh.

174:1 That is, only two additional trishtubh verses are to be inserted between the 11 (or 15) gâyatrî ones.

175:1 The three chief oblations of the Animal Sacrifice, requiring each an invitatory prayer (anuvâkyâ) and an offering prayer (yâgyâ), are the omentum-oblation (vapâ), the animal cake (pasupurodâsa), and the meat oblations (pasu-havis). This is the order on the present occasion, whilst usually the cake-oblation succeeds the offering of meat portions. Now the first of the three invitatory prayers (that of the omentum), viz. Vâg. S. XXVII, 26 (Rik S. X, 121, 8), and the last of the three offering prayers (that of the meat portions), viz. Vâg. S. XXVII, 25 (Rik S. X, 121, 7), end with the refrain, 'what god (or, the god Ka) should we serve with offering.' Thus, then, the first and the last of the six formulas would be p. 176 addressed to Pragâpati; and to him is also exceptionally offered the animal cake, which is here assigned the central position, and which, in the normal sacrificial order, would belong to the recipient of the animal sacrifice itself, or in the present case, to Vâyu Niyutvat. Sâyana, on the other hand, makes the above two verses, containing the word Ka, the invitatory and offering prayers of the cake-offering, as the MS. makes him say,--kadvatyau yâgyânuvâkye purodâsasya, 'âpo ha yad brihatîr' (Rik S. X, 121, 7), 'yaskid âpo' (X, 121, 8) ity ete. This, indeed, would also seem to be the opinion of Kâtyâyana, whose rules (XVI, I, 39-43) are,--39. To Pragâpati belongs the animal cake at both (animal sacrifices); 40. The offering and invitatory formulas of the Prâgâpatya (animal sacrifice) contain the word 'Ka;' 41. Those of the Vâyavya contain the word 'bright;' 42. Optionally so, those of the omentum (but not at the meat portion, commentary); 43. The remainder is equal in all (three views).--Now it would indeed be the most natural, that the formulas of the cake-offering, here exceptionally assigned to Pragâpati, should be made to correspond to that deity; but the order in which the formulas are given in the Vâg. S. XXVII, 23-28 (cf. Âsval. III, 8, I, as well as paragraph 13 above, seems to favour the first view; though the next paragraph shows that there were differences of opinion on this point. Cf. next note.

176:1 The form of Pragâpati which has a team of horses is Vâyu, the god of wind; while his bright forms are represented by Agni, the fire (VI, I, 3, 20, 'Agni is all bright things').--Vâg. S. XXVII, 29-34 gives six verses for use as invitatory and offering formulas p. 177 at the ishtakâpasu to Vâyu. Five of these contain the word 'niyut,' team, but only the first two contain the word 'sukra' (bright): these two are presumably to be used on the present occasion; though I am at a loss to see what other two verses containing the word 'bright' are to be used; unless indeed 'suklavatyah' in the text means verses containing some word for 'bright,' in which case the ordinary verses used at an animal offering to Vâyu Niyutvat, viz. Vâg. S. XXVII, 23 and 24 (Rik S. VII, 91, 3; 90, 3) which contain the word 'sveta' (white, light), might be used. The MS. of Sâyana's commentary is unfortunately very corrupt in this place; it alludes to the latter two verses, but whether to recommend them, or set them aside, for the present occasion, is not clear. He does, however, specially except the formulas of the animal cake from being included in the above specification. In the view put forth in paragraph 14, the above-mentioned two verses would apparently have to be used for the omentum-oblation, the two verses containing 'Ka' for the cake-oblation, and (any) two verses containing the word 'team' (either the ordinary ones, Rik S. VII, 92, 5; VI, 49, 4; or some of the special ones) for the meat-oblation.

178:1 Sâyana here supplies 'let him perform that,'--eshâm karmanâm madhye yat karmâsya sampadyeta tat kuryâd iti seshah; but he then adds, that the pronoun 'it' (tam) at the beginning of the next paragraph is caused by proximity of the Niyutvatîya.

178:2 See I, 6, 4, 5. 'Now this king Soma, the food of the gods, is no other than the moon. When he (the moon, masc.) is not seen that night either in the east or in the west, then he visits this world, and here he enters into the waters (f.) and plants (f.).' Thus Pragâpati is here identified with Soma, the moon, and food.

178:3 Cp. I, 6, 4, 12-13. 'The full-moon oblation, assuredly, belongs to the Vritra-slayer, for by means of it Indra slew Vritra; and this new-moon oblation also represents the slaying of Vritra, since they prepared that invigorating draught for him who had slain Vritra. An offering in honour of the Vritra-slayer, then, is the full-moon sacrifice. Vritra, assuredly, is no other than the moon; and when during that night (of new moon) he is not seen either in the east or in the west, then he (Indra) finishes in destroying him by means of that (new-moon sacrifice), and leaves nothing remaining of him.'

179:1 In the older division of the year the first or spring season (vasanta) begins with the month of Phâlguna, that is the month when the moon is in conjunction with the nakshatra of the Uttare Phalgunî, whence that full moon, in the Kaush. Br. 5, 1, is called the mouth, and that of the first Phalgunî the tail, of the year. See A. Weber, Nachrichten von den Naxatra, II, p. 329. In the above, somewhat bold figure, we are, Sâyana reminds us, to understand the fifteenth or last day (of the dark fortnight) of the first Phalgunî, and the pratipad, or first day of the second Phalgunî.

180:1 For the construction of the fire-pan, in which the sacred fire has to be kept up for a year, during which the initiation-ceremony is repeated day after day, see VI, 5, 2, 1 seq.

180:2 There is kept up in these paragraphs a play on the word 'loka,' meaning both 'space' and 'world (or place of living),'--and applying both to the space occupied by a brick, in building up the altar; and to the place which the Sacrificer, by this performance, gains for himself in another world. The initiation period is here represented p. 181 as the time during which the Sacrificer prepares both the requisite space for the altar (as it were, adding day by day so many brick-spaces, thus becoming available for the altar-pile at the time of construction), and an adequate place for himself in the celestial regions.

181:1 That is, man receives, in a future existence, the reward or punishment for his deeds during this life.

181:2 The author argues in support of the orthodox initiation-period of just one year, as just the amount of time required for preparing the exact amount of space (or brick-spaces) requisite for an altar of proper size. If the initiation were to last less than a year, he would not have had sufficient time to prepare the necessary amount of space, or rather, number of spaces required for the bricks; and, by implication, he would not acquire for himself an adequate place hereafter.

181:3 That is to say, if he were to make the initiation-period last longer than a year, thus providing for more space than his supply of bricks would suffice to fill up.

181:4 That is, after the expiration of the period of initiation, or just a year after the commencement of the latter.

182:1 That is, during the days from the commencement to the completion of the altar. These are the upasad-days (part ii, p. 104 seq.), the number of which varies from three days up to three years. During this period the Upasads have to be performed twice daily, and in the interval between the two performances the building of the altar takes place, a certain number of bricks being added each day.

182:2 Or, rather, the correspondence, in toto, of the sacrificial performance with the object to be attained, viz. Agni, the fire-altar.